Begin by previewing the passage from Under the Mesquite. Quickly look over the text to become familiar with the topic and the free-verse style of the text before reading it. Examine text features such as the Spanish symbols and accents, headings, and verse organization. Write a list of at least three things that you noticed in your preview of the text.

On november 17, 1968, football fans across the united states sat glued to their televisions. a close game between two top teams—the new york jets and the oakland raiders—was being broadcast. when the jets pulled ahead with only fifty seconds remaining, viewers went wild. but then, just as the raiders were bringing the ball across midfield, the game disappeared from the screen! in its place, a previously scheduled children's movie, heidi, started playing. callers flooded the tv network's phone lines, but it was too late. the raiders scored two touchdowns in the very final moments—touchdowns that were unseen by all but west coast viewers. as a result of the interrupted event, dubbed "the heidi game," television networks began delaying their regularly scheduled programs until football games had ended.

Demonstrating understanding of jem's development one way to demonstrate understanding of character and theme is by writing from the perspective of a character. for this assignment, compose a short poem from the perspective of jem. your poem should detail his feelings about either a. his father, atticus or b. mrs. dubose. the poem must accurately trace the progression of jem's attitudes and beliefs, highlighting the important events and shifts in his perspective detailed above. your writing should also sound like jem, using voice and word choice that reflects the voice and word choice found in the novel. the poem can be a free poem (meaning it does not need to rhyme or follow a particular format). it should be a minimum of twenty-lines in length, have a title, and follow conventional rules of spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

When they reached the door of the lonely house and stopped to unlock it, and the cat came to purr loudly, and rub against them, a deserted p***y, indeed, but fat with young robins, sylvia whispered that this was a beautiful place to live in, and she never should wish to go home. the description of the house in this excerpt gives an example of